2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button said that a strong Lewis Hamilton challenge was just what he needed. His fellow compatriot inspired the most satisfying wins of Jenson’s career. The two Britons drove for McLaren from 2010 to 2012. Button said, “Our relationship was interesting. Because I came from Brawn, where I won the world championship in 2009 – and he won the previous world championship in 2008, with McLaren. I moved to his team, if you like, so I walked in the door looking for that challenge of racing against Lewis Hamilton.”
via Imago
Jenson Button enjoyed the Hamilton challenge when the 2 were teammates at McLaren
He continued, “Both British, racing for a British team, both world champions, fresh new world champions, so it put a lot of pressure on us and that made it fun, I really enjoyed that challenge.He is unbelievably quick and, over one lap, he is the quickest guy I think that has ever driven a Formula One car. In a race, I could challenge him, and we could race for wins. Over those three years we won a lot and some of the races I did win were the best races in my career, because I had to beat Lewis to achieve them.”
Jenson Button hung up his Formula One boots at the end of the 2016 season. Although, technically speaking it was more of a sabbatical. He made a one-off appearance in 2017, when he stood in for Fernando Alonso in Monaco. Alonso in the meantime was in the United States, competing in the Indianapolis 500, in a bid to win the triple crown. Button’s book ‘Life To The Limit’ is among 12 contenders for the Autobiography of the Year at the 2018 Sports Book Awards.
Button will also make a return to racing, albeit with the super GT series. He will race with Honda Team Mugen, a team he had raced last year with in a one-off appearance.
